Which to use
“déçues” is an adjective and “duchés” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,735
- “déçues” frequency rank
- #39,757
- “duchés” frequency rank
- 86492
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déçues | duchés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de déçu. | Pluriel de duché. |
Where the eye mixes déçues and duchés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. déçues (CVCVVC) and duchés (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses déçues with duchés
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déçues is \de.sy\ while duchés is \dy.ʃe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86492, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déçues is recorded at frequency rank #46,735, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.sy\. duchés is at rank #39,757, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dy.ʃe\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 86492, this pair ranks #9,629 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déçues vs duchés
Shared letters: dsué. Private to "déçues": eç. Private to "duchés": ch.
"déçues" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "duchés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déçues" for "duchés" ever safe?
Which is more common, "déçues" or "duchés"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déçues" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duchés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,629 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déçues" and "duchés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dèche vs déçues". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #9,629 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.